Thursday, December 26, 2013

I have a kid on my caseload who really seems to be picking up literacy skills and vocabulary from these simple Boardmaker books, so this new one "Snowmen Everywhere" is dedicated to him! When he waltzes into the school after break, I'll be ready, book in hand! I print books such as this, and leave them in the classroom. His wonderful teacher and assistants have been reading them to him, and then he has learned to read them back. Expect more in the future! I'm thrilled he likes them!

On a deep dark level, I guess snowmen are taking over the world. I hope your kids don't go to this level. Keep it light! Print, laminate, velcro--have fun! (Although I do have three different prepositions, I wouldn't make these the focus of your lesson. I just couldn't write this with just one.)

Saturday, December 21, 2013

January is right around the corner. Over the last two years, I've created or blogged about a few winter ideas--printables are all free. I'll be adding to these over the next few weeks, so check back in!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

This year I was honored to be nominated as Best Individual Blog for the Edublog Awards. The finalists were from all over the world, and the winner was a teacher from Bulgaria. (I used Google Translate to read some of the things she wrote about. Not surprisingly, some of the same issues exist in education on the other side of the Atlantic!) I was thrilled to be included on the finalist list, and the fact that I came in 7th (out of 53) was amazing to me. Thank you to those of you who read my blog and download my materials. And thanks to those who voted!

I liked taking a look at the list of winners in different categories. This was definitely a multi-country event---there was the winner of the individual blog award (Bulgaria), but other countries were represented in other categories (Ireland, Australia, England, Scotland). My prediction is that more countries and more languages will be added each year. We are becoming one global community and the internet (and blogging) is helping to make that happen!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I'm done with Christmas! I actually haven't been talking about it too much with the kids. My caseload is polarized---the kids are either rich or poor. Either way, there is too much hype out there in the world, so I don't really talk about it a lot. I've done a few adapted books, and used a few apps. Other than that, it's business as usual. Our whole school is like that. Here's a quote from the administration:"Please remember that we want to preserve the integrity of every moment of instruction. All celebrations are to be food-free unless you have prior administrative approval."So, I've moved on to snowmen here. (Although, in North Carolina, we rarely get enough snow to build an actual snowman! The teachers still incorporate this into the curriculum. I guess many (like me) are from the north but after we fled from the snow belt, we continue to yearn for it. Why?)

After I created the book, I downloaded it, and then uploaded it to Google Drive. I added some SmartySymbols icons so that all of us can make the book interactive. You print it, and then have the child use the icons to match pictures, say the sentence, talk about feelings, read the pages.... it depends on each child as to what you want to happen.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

This post is in no way intended to demean the hard work that talented speech-language pathologists do in a private practice setting. A long time ago, I was hired by a private practice, and worked difficult cases, drove to remote towns, worked in hospitals, and visited homes and day cares. It was tough, and at the time, it wasn't exactly lucrative (I was a CFY). I always worried about where the next payment was coming from. On the flip side, financially strapped parents and caregivers often didn't know where their next dollar was in order to pay me. Anxiety and stress seemed to be the name of the game from both sides.

I walked away from that setting, and have little desire to return. I prefer public service, which is why I love working in schools. Billing parents or recruiting clients/contracts is not part of the equation.

During my years as a public school SLP, however, I run into a misperception CONSTANTLY. Sometimes it's implied subtly; while other times, it's blatant. For some reason, the word is out that public school speech pathologists are not as qualified as their private practice counterparts. I've been referred to as the 'ordinary speech pathologist', or the one who doesn't know much about (fill in the blank with the disorder).

Although I'm the first to admit that I often don't know answers, I feel my clinical skills (and the skills of my public school speech friends) are on par with SLPs around the country. I'm in awe of my other public school colleagues, and I often go to them with my questions about children on my caseload.

I would like to eliminate any preconceived notions about the expertise of public school speech pathologists and here is why---

In order to practice either in a school or private setting, all NC speech-language pathologists (and most other states) must have a Masters Degree, and have the Certification of Clinical Competence. The training for this is rigorous. In addition, speech-language pathologists must ALL continue their educations through professional development to maintain certification.

Public school speech-language pathologists independently and as a group read scholarly articles in order to stay current in their field. We often discuss these at our professional development meetings.

Public school speech-language pathologists often publish in scholarly journals and national magazines.

Public school speech-language pathologists must be well-versed in best practice for a variety of children from all walks of life, and who have various disorders. There is rarely an opportunity to

completely specialize, so a public school SLP, when given a new student, must research treatment techniques, attend conferences, or seek expert advice in order to write appropriate goals and objectives. This scenario happens frequently.

Public school speech-language pathologists must also stay reasonably up-to-date with current technologies--both for record keeping and for assistive technology needs of the students.

Public school speech-language pathologists must collaborate effectively with other educators. Every child is a part of a team of adults, and SLPs often work on many different teams to provide the most appropriate services for the child. This may not always be the traditional 'pull out' model--often the setting is collaborative; sometimes it involves co-teaching.

Public school speech-language pathologists must be well-versed in evaluating and treating children who speak other languages.

Public school speech-language pathologists must keep detailed records of treatment, and be well versed in special education law. They need to know how to write measurable goals and monitor progress.

Public school speech-language pathologists need to know curriculum for all levels of children, including being well versed on the new Common Core (other other state standards).

Over the years, I've been involved in interviewing speech pathologists who would like to work for our school system. It's competitive! Typically for every job opening, 4 or 5 people were interviewed. Many applicants worked in a private setting at the time of the interview, and often didn't get the job. Others SLPs interviewed were those with public school experience and also often didn't get hired. There has never been a strong feeling that one group is any more qualified than the other. Prior work setting doesn't pre-determine clinical skills.

There are, of course, times where a referral to an outside agency for specialized treatment and consultation is necessary. For example, a child with a cochlear implant needs to be seen by people who really know a LOT about this, and then they can provide direction to the school and parents. A child with a cleft palate needs the services of a specialized multidisciplinary clinic.
Parents, of course, may take their children to whomever they choose, and the private SLP may be just the ticket for that child's continued success. There just is no rule-of-thumb that says that one group is more competent than the other.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

I'm going to deviate from the subject of speech therapy for a minute. This weekend, I made a new 'friend'. This friend was actually the evil identical twin of an old friend on Facebook.

If you are like me, I get excited when familiar people request to be my friend on Facebook. I said 'yes' to a friend request---and then later learned that a complete stranger had lifted my old friend's profile picture and used that to create a fake identity. This stranger then proceeded to ask the existing friends to be friends again. I had vaguely thought that I was a friend already at the time, but said 'yes' anyway. Later, when the new 'evil' friend was telling his new friends they had won the lottery if they reveal personal info, I realized he was a faker!

The lesson here is that people who use Facebook need to have more conservative privacy settings. I immediately hid my existing friends from the outside world. Here are a few steps to help you do this if you don't know. After this weekend's experience, I feel there is no reason to reveal your friends to everyone in the world (and the world is big).

If you don't know how the world sees your profile, click 'view as'. Look where the arrow is pointing on the profile. Click on 'view as'.

A pop up window will appear. Read that, and click 'Okay'. Your profile will appear as the world sees it. Please remember that there are many people in the world who want to be richer.

If you would like the whole world to not see your friends and solicit them for money or personal information, go to your friends section of FB, and click on the little pencil to edit privacy settings.

This window will pop up. I checked 'friends' only as those who can see my existing friends. Actually, since I have posted this, I checked 'friends except acquaintances'. You are welcome to do this or make it even more restrictive. I would encourage you (after this experience this weekend) to NOT check 'public'.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Prior to the holidays, I wanted share my Christmas Bingo game. Lots of you have liked similar activities, so maybe you will like this with your special populations. I primarily focused on 'between' and 'over' since that's what my own students need although there are a couple of other concepts included.

This is simple and based on my previous free Bingo games.

We all know how to play Bingo. Do I need to explain now? I usually play with my kids until all the spaces are filled. No winners or losers.

I have been recently honored. Chapel Hill Snippets is a finalist in the Edublogs Awards! My category is Best Individual Blog. You can vote for Chapel Hill Snippets here. Or vote for another blog! There are several speech therapy blogs as finalists. Do as you wish, but overall, blogs and websites are improving education for EC kids. Sharing materials, ideas, and knowledge can only help! I'm amazed and honored that I'm on the list.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

His kind, wonderful parents and siblings did everything possible for him before finally sending him away to live in state-run facility followed by a group home, when he was eleven. Here is their story, beautifully written by his dad.

----------------------------------------------------------------

William

Learning to be a father by letting go of my son…

3
years and 31 days ago, I made a decision that I swore I would never
make. I dropped my firstborn son off at a state run program in a mental
hospital, admitting to him and to the world that our family was no
longer the best place for him, and that someone else was better equipped
to meet his needs than my wife and I.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

I began my blogging saga about two years ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed this new hobby. I never thought I could write, or that anyone would care to read what I put here. I love sharing materials online, free with really no strings attached. What I really really like though is meeting new friends, seeing how others cope with life's juggling act of home and work issues, and learning about other types of speech therapy jobs (or teaching or OT or whatever I read about).

From Super Power Speech

For this reason, I'm nominating Super Power Speech as my favorite individual blog. CC chronicles her life, her work as a school-based speech pathologist, and her passions. She shares materials, lesson plans, and ideas. She vents her frustrations about school and writes about her husband's heartbreaking chronic illness. I look forward to every post, and sometimes meander over to TPT and purchase something valuable (she is the only seller I use).
I feel that blogging for her is more than selling her products--it's also about developing a relationship....similar to the way a gifted author develops relationships with readers. No other speech pathologist's blog is quite like hers, and I thank her for this!